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CANARIE, Inc., operator of a national broadband network, has announced it will purchase Juniper Networks Inc. M-series Internet routers to incorporate into its national research and innovation network, a decision based on the manufacturer’s “proven results.”

The routers will allow CANARIE’s CA*net 4, national research and innovation network to deliver reliable, scalable and secure IP services across a high-speed, private network, according to Juniper.

Bill St. Arnaud, senior director, Advanced Networks at CANARIE (Canadian Network for the Advancement of Research, Industry and Education), said the decision was based on “pricing and a couple of features” that tipped the scale in favour of purchasing the Juniper M40e and M20 Internet routers.

“(The routers) are for carrying the traffic on the CA*net 4, the research network, so we needed a high-performance, high-end router for that traffic … We had a choice between Juniper and Cisco (Systems Ltd.),” St. Arnaud stated. “Both Cisco and Juniper make very good products … the support for XML and IPv6 Juniper router was a bonus,” St. Arnaud explained.

Routers with the IPv6 capability can be valuable for customers in the future, analyst Ron Gruia, a Toronto-based program leader of enterprise, communications solutions with analyst house Frost and Sullivan.

“If you’re a customer looking to the future [the routers] will allow for customization, as well as added security, so I think those are strong selling points,” he said.

In a Juniper press release, St. Arnaud said, “CANARIE selected Juniper Networks based upon its proven results for the reliable transport and multi-service traffic across Canada, North America and throughout the world.”

Juniper’s IP infrastructure will also deliver IPv6 and multicast at line-rate across all interfaces, the press release stated.

Juniper’s announcement last week of plunging revenues that forced the elimination of 10 per cent of its workforce does not worry St. Arnaud.

“We know that everybody is going through some rough times right now, affecting both big and small manufacturers, we’re pretty confident Juniper will be in there for the long run,” he said.

Ottawa-based CANARIE is aiming to accelerate Canada’s advanced Internet development. The not-for-profit outfit connects more than 2,000 Canadian institutions with voice, video and data capacity.